Punkasila

Punkasila, Tenth Biennale of Havana, Cuba

28 March 2009

Danius Kesminas - embedded with punkasila

17 april - 12 may 2007

Acronym Wars - video and CD TRACK Listing

To artist page

Cemeti Art Foundation, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2006

PUNKASILA

Formed by Danius Kesminas, PUNKASILA features seven graduates and current students from the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta and Kesminas - seven Indonesians and a bule. PUNKASILA play custom-made, hand crafted mahogany guitars, built to simulate M-16’s, AK-47’s and other weapons.  They wear camouflage-patterned hand-painted batik, tailored as military fatigues and play originals songs which highlight the multitude of acronyms and abbreviations that describe the full spectrum of Indonesian political, cultural and religious life.

In March 2007 Punksila present a concert (Permission to Fire) and CD launch plus an exhibition (Conspicuous Objects) at Keda Kebun Forum in Yogyakarta. This will be followed by an exhibition at the Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney (April/May 2007).

Punkasila live at GOMA, Queensland Art Gallery, 25 May 2007

The name, PUNKASILA, which literally means punk principles, derives from pancasila, the five tenets devised for the unitary basis of Indonesian nationhood. While reading The Politics of Indonesia by Dr Damien Kingsbury, Kesminas found himself continually referring to the index of abbreviations and acronyms and it is this index that he chose as the basis for PUNKASILA’s "lyrics". These acronyms became a set of abbreviated "songs" performed in a frenetic progressive-punk-rock idiom. The song titles are in fact the complete lyrics (with completed nomenclature echoed in Bahasa Indonesian).

Together with the band, Kesminas wrote 17 songs based on selected Indonesian acronyms and abbreviations. The genius of the pancasila as propaganda, condensed through its motto, "Unity in Diversity", is to unify the wide ranging cultures of the Indonesian archipelago and to suggest that it is the five principles that they have shared in common since time immemorial. The concept that drives the Punkasila project is to distil the cacophony of disparate political, military, religious, cultural and bureaucratic organisations that constitute the Indonesian body politic to their abbreviated form of acronyms. It is hoped to make the songs both humorous and provocative in equal measure, in part by flattening out each organisations’ implied agendas, arbitrarily presenting them alongside rival, non-affiliated or completely disconnected groups. In addition, many of these acronyms have been popularly inverted using plesetan as a kind of subversive double-speak. This specifically Indonesian wordplay adds another layer of pathos and the ridiculous to PUNKASILA’s repertoire.

All the songs are original. The average length of each is about 1min 30sec with Kesminas singing the acronym repetitively and his co-vocalist Hahan howling its complete form in Bahasa Indonesian. Sometimes these roles are reversed. The song writing process is all the more interesting given the band members very limited English and Kesminas' non-existent Indonesian.

PUNKASILA’S repertoire includes;
TNI: Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian National Military), Tikyan Ning Idab-Idabi (Poor but Adorable)
PNU: Partai Nahdlatul Ummat (Islamic Community Awakening Party), Partai Nunut Udud (Party for Taking Cigarettes from your Friends)
TURBA: Turun ke Bawah*, Turuk Babi (Down to Earth*, Pig's Vagina) *This was a leftist ideology of the 1950's and 60's for the political and cultural mobilisation of the populous. It was later used by the Soeharto regime to spread New Order ideology to the villages.
KOPASSUS: Komando Pasukan Khusus (Special Force Command), Komando Pasukan Suka Susu (Milk Lovers' Force Command/Tit Lovers’ Force Command)
PKI: Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesia Communist Party), Penggemar Komik Indonesia (Indonesian Comic Fans), Penggemar Kaos Indonesia (Indonesian T-Shirt Fans), Partai Kaos Indonesia (Chaos Party of Indonesia)
RPKAD: Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat (Army Para-Commando Regiment Command), Rampung Kenthu Anake Duwekmu (We have Sex but the Child will be Yours)

PUNKASILA Members:

"Hahan" Uji Handoko Eko Saputro: radio transmission vocals
 Danius Kesminas: megaphone and hand grenade microphone
Rudy "Atjeh" Dharmawan: KSP Stehr AUG, 5.56mm guitar
"Iyok" Prayoga Satrio Utomo: KSP Zastava M80, 5.5mm guitar
Janu Satmoko: KSP hybrid M16/greande launcher bass
Prihatmoko "Moky" Catur: drums and amplified ballistics
Gde Krisna Widiathama: anti-keyboard satellite signals
Wimo Ambala Bayang: modified communications devices

PUNKASILA’S first CD, Acronym Wars  will be formally released in conjunction with the 2007 Yogyakarta & Sydney exhibitions/performances.

ACRONYM WARS, 2006
audio CD, 18 tracks gatefold cover with poster insert

Listen to Acronym wars

To date PUNKASILA have played live shows in Semarang, Bandung and Yogyakarta and have been censored only once.